European Union Facts

European Union Facts

The EU or European Union is a union of European member countries. The EU is a political economic union of countries that are located on the European continent.

Of the 50 countries in Europe, 27 belong to the European Union (EU), the UK withdrew in 2020.

The European Union countries

The European Union member countries all are independent and sovereign countries with their own governments, own legislation and own constitutions.

Top 20 EU Facts

1. The EU has 27 members. Several countries such as Albania, Serbia or Turkey are still waiting to be accepted to become a member of the EU.

From 1 February 2021, after Brexit, the 27 EU countries will be:

• Austria

• Belgium

• Bulgaria

• Croatia

• Cyprus

• Czechia

• Denmark

• Estonia

• Finland

• France

• Germany

• Greece

• Hungary

• Ireland

• Italy

• Latvia

• Lithuania

• Luxembourg

• Malta

• Netherlands

• Poland

• Portugal

• Romania

• Slovakia

• Slovenia

• Spain

• Sweden

2. The European flag has a circle of 12 golden stars on a blue background which symbolise unity, solidarity and harmony among the European member countries.

3. The European motto is ‘United in Diversity’.

4. The European anthem is a melody that was composed by German composer Ludwig van Beethoven in 1823. The melody is part of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and referred to as “Ode to Joy” The anthem only consists of the musical tunes, there are no words to the anthem. The anthem is played at official ceremonies of the EU or when several countries share a European event.

5. The EU is home to 513 million inhabitants in total living in the member countries. Thus the EU is the third largest population after China and India.

6. Largest country by land area in the European Union is France, while the biggest EU country by population is Germany.

7. Smallest country of the EU by land area and population is Malta.

8. Largest city in the EU: London in the United Kingdom with almost 9 million inhabitants was the EU's biggest city until 31 January 2020.

After Brexit, Berlin in Germany will be the biggest city with a population of 3.7 million inhabitants. Other big EU cities are Madrid/Spain, Rome/Italy and Paris/France but they have less than 3 million people.

9. Richest and poorest in the EU: The richest country with the highest GDP per capita is Luxembourg while the poorest country with the lowest GDP per capita is Bulgaria.

10. What is the European Union? The EU is a political and economic union that have common institutions and an EU parliament. The member states of the EU share common interests and common values.

The main purpose is to uphold peace, promote economic and social solidarity and bring the European people together. There is freedom to move in the European Union so people from a EU country can live, work and study in any other European country.

11. When was the EU formed? The first European Union was formed by six countries in 1958 although it was not called 'European Union' then. The six founding countries are Germany, France, Italy and the three Benelux countries (Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg).